37 people beheaded – Largest mass execution in three years

37 people, mostly from Shia minority, have been beheaded in Saudi Arabia. The government, based in Riyadh, displayed the mutilated body of one of them on a pole. The ultra-conservative kingdom said on Tuesday.

The executions were likely to stoke further regional and sectarian tensions between rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran.

In a statement, Riyadh said those killed were found guilty of attacking security installations, killing security officers and cooperating with what it called “enemy organizations.”

Lawmakers added that the men were charged with “adopting terrorist extremist ideology, forming terrorist cells” and harming the “peace and security of society”.

One of the men executed was aged just 16 at the time of his arrest, according to Amnesty International.